Bigger On The Inside
by Funky In Fishnet
Summary: Lori knows why the Governor wanted her on the Five-0 Task Force. But she's not playing his game; she's spending most of her time with Max instead. He makes Hawaii feel like home.


_**Disclaimer**: I own nothing._

_**Author Note**: Inspired by the scene between Lori and Max at the end of 'Ka lwi Kapu' when they leave for Max's costume party/DVD night. It made me grin like crazy. This is the result._

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><p><strong>BIGGER ON THE INSIDE<strong>

Lori wasn't stupid. She knew why the Governor had really gotten her transferred to Hawaii and it wasn't just so that she could be his eyes and ears on the team. He wanted the Five-0 Task Force's Commander leashed and obedient by any means necessary and he wanted her to make it happen. It wasn't officially part of her liaison job at all but the Governor had dropped plenty of hints about what he expected of her. He probably assumed that she'd jump at the chance to work intimately with Steve McGarrett and his mountain of problems. He was going to be very disappointed; she'd done her time with alpha males and their daddy issues.

She'd stayed in Hawaii despite the Governor's transparent games. Because she liked the team. She'd clicked with them, and liked the pay packet and the scenery, and she loved the challenge of the job. She enjoyed it all enough to stay, despite people thinking that she could be used as a pawn. Or maybe she enjoyed it because of that; she'd always loved proving people wrong.

One of her reasons for staying was waiting for her in autopsy.

She heard the piano before she reached the doors. He was playing something light and almost playful. Hearing his music always made her smile. He was unexpected – he kept a piano alongside cadavers. Something beautiful in a place full of things that really weren't. She understood that.

She watched the energetic movement of his body. He was consumed by the music.

She'd seen the looks that Danny and Steve exchanged whenever she talked to Max. And they weren't the only ones surprised at how well she got on with the Medical Examiner. But the team had never met her friends back home, or seen some of her Halloween costumes. Yes, she knew how to put on a polished professional front and she was extremely focused and good at her job. But why should that be all there was to her? She'd never had to explain that to Max.

Her DVD collection always surprised people. Max had commended her on the variety and quality of it. They regularly met up for DVD nights. Their viewing choices ranged wide, from _Oklahoma_ to _Blake 7_. Recently, during _Amelie_, Max had presented her with a specimen jar of pickles. He'd done the pickling himself. They were delicious. He was a man of hidden talents.

"You do know what used to be in there, right?" Danny had asked, his face wrinkling with distaste at the jar on her desk.

Lori had raised her eyebrows. "Yes, and I think that the Medical Examiner knew to clean it out first."

Danny had looked at her like he didn't know her at all. She'd asked Max to give his next pickles to Danny. Max had quirked a smile and chosen his biggest spare jar. He was completely on her wave-length.

As well as their DVD nights, they hit the movie theaters, tried out Hawaii's endless variety of food shacks, and visited the more unusual corners of Hawaii that Max knew about – holy places, little-known film locations, hidden beauty spots tucked away behind junk yards. He always seemed to know what she'd be interested in. And Lori's knowledge of Hawaiian culture was growing. She was never going to sound natural speaking _pigin_ but the cultural nuances that the team encountered every day now felt more recognizable and comfortable and she knew how to treat them with the respect that they deserved. It made the job go a lot smoother, and it made Hawaii feel a lot more like home.

It took five minutes for Max to finish playing. He turned around, seeming completely unsurprised at her presence. The smile he wore was the one she'd only ever seen him direct at her.

"Agent Weston, I trust you are having a good day?"

It was always 'Agent Weston' at work. He knew how to be professional too. And he always asked how she was as though he was interested in the answer. Lori smiled genuinely back.

"It's getting better, Max. Do you have time to hit Kamekona's truck? I need lunch."

Max tucked the file she'd come for under his right arm and offered her his left. Lori took it, her smile undimmed. She could make out the Star Fleet emblem on the shirt he was wearing under his lab coat. When she pulled out her car keys, there was a miniature blue police box hanging from the keyring. On the backseat of her car were more pickles, in a jar custom-made for her birthday. It was shaped like a retro rocketship.

_-the end_


End file.
